The Melancholy of Summer by Louisa Onom

Summer and her parents are on the run, each in their own way.

Under investigation for fraud, Summer's mother and father have left town without a word, leaving a stunned 17-year-old Summer behind. When Summer is discovered to be living alone, without a guardian or a permanent residence, for a whole year, she is sent to live with a cousin who seems to have it all wealth, talent, charm and the thing Summer craves most of all: freedom. Despite Oluchi's eager offers of companionship, Summer continues to keep her guard up and her expectations of Olu low. It's the only way she can make it to 18 and true and legal freedom: by not trusting the adults in her life and by quashing her conflicted hopes of reuniting with her parents.

But the discovery of a mysterious letter from her parents to an estranged family friend throws a wrench in Summer's plans. Drawn by her need to understand her parents' betrayal, Summer finds her carefully curated calm giving way to a very necessary storm one that brings Summer, her cousin and even her friends closer together. But as Summer feels increasingly haunted by the absence and jarring presence of her parents, she must learn how to offer more of herself to herself.(From Groundwood Books)

The Melancholy of Summer is for ages 13 and up.

Louisa Onom is a Nigerian-Canadian author living in Toronto. Her YA books include novels Like Home and Twice as Perfect.

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